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Friday, December 23, 2011

Status Update Ideas For Facebook

Facebook, Facebook, Facebook. It's what all the cool kids are talking about these days. Anybody who's anybody has one.

In all seriousness, having a social media presence is pretty important these days, especially for nonprofits. Not only can you find new supporters you might not have otherwise reached, it also is a place where your followers can converse, and get the latest updates on your mission. Since Facebook is the big kahuna of social networking sites, it's important that it provides maximum engagement for your supporters. One of the best ways to do this is to write great status updates. In her book Social Media For Good, Heather Mansfield provides five ideas for status updates:

Success Stories: Supporters like to know that the dollars they are contributing are going towards successful causes. Fill them in on how their contributions are helping to fund successful programs.

Photos: We live in a visual culture. Post photos directly to Facebook of your organization's latest events or just show people what your office looks like.

Videos: Videos are also an effective visual tool for your Facebook. Try sharing a new one at least two or three times a month.

Breaking News: The great thing about social media is it allows you to communicate with your followers instantly. When something big happens, take advantage of this by letting people know. The news can be summarized in a few sentences for your status update.

Call To Action: Have a fundraising campaign coming up? Use your Facebook status to get your followers to participate. You can also do this for petitions or other special events.

1 comment:

Heather provides good tips, especially about photos and videos. I recently did a list on Connection Cafe of 50 ideas specifically for nonprofits. You can read them here: http://www.connectioncafe.com/posts/2011/11-november/50-social-media-content-ideas.html

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